The Apple Of My Eye!

* AN APPLE A DAY... Keeps the Dr Away, right?*

A Sweet Back to School Twirl Dress!!!

THX for all of your modeling, C!

***

You're the Best!

Love, Bon

Christmas in July & Back to School!!!

What a HOT July it's been! Ross & I spent all day in the yard mulching b/c he is actually home & not flying into any hurricanes. This was something we could do & spend the day together being productive, not spending too much money... Of course an afternoon storm rolled in & sent us running inside after working until the very last minute. This is the South & Summertime, the storms seem to come from the wild & out of the blue!

It's Back to School time folks & Christmas in July!!! Getting ready for all of the special events as soon as possible is smart~! I know over the Holidays, I tend to get booked up very quickly & stress myself out over getting things done, this year I will be taking off two weeks b/f Christmas. Please get your orders in as early as possible.

I'm keeping this one fairly short as it's getting to be bedtime here & I still have a few things to do b/f closing out my Saturday! Church is tomorrow as well as my BD Boutique Designer Christmas in July & Back to School Launch on ebay. This is a group of 75+ professional designers, like myself, whom we've come together to form a fun group & explore our options & share new ideas & trends. I also had a TERRIFIC little friend & one of my favorite models come back to help me last week, you will see her in several of my new auctions! Don't miss out, I have all .99 starting bid listings on ebay. It's A HUGE risk & not enough attention these days, so PLEASE, please... share my site's & locations with any interested friends!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, too!
Blessings & Smiles,

Bonnie

Bon's Design & Sewing & Fabric Work Spaces!

I just wanted to take a moment this quiet Saturday morning to show you a collage of my sewing work spaces. Ross was up at 2:30 AM to work with Hurricane Bertha. Hurricane season is very busy for him! So, I could not get back to sleep & got a very early start today.

Please note that my rooms are NEVER this clean, Honestly... this was ONLY for the photo! :) Then after a few hours of work, the mess begins & accumulates as you can imagine.

Bon

July 4th Picnic & Boating in Mississippi!

It's been a nice relaxing weekend for Ross & I. We needed this adventurous time, even though we were lost in the dark waters after watching the fireworks from our boat, we eventually found our way back to the US~AFB at Keelser, they have a great Marina there! Misty is now 6 months old & keeps us busy... She LOVES the water & is such a JOY in our lives!~ Here is a photo of her watching her Daddy on the boat! :) Ross used to train Police Dogs as a Military Cop, so she is learning at a very young age. I would not trade her for anything, as my first experience with a puppy & dog of my own has been nothing but the best. :)

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Ross has been on the go with hurricane season kicking in & attending classes in Florida last weekend. Now, hurricane Bertha is a threat & they will be deployed out tomorrow to the Island of St Croix, which is where they fly all of their missions from. The hurricane hunters do actually take their planes right into the eye of the storm & fly in the storm for a few hours to get all of the readings necessary to report back to the National Weather Center in Miami, Fl. We are storm watchers here as we are only living about 1/2 mile from the Gulf Waters!

I like to keep my customers updated here on my business & personal life as I appreciate everyone's support & care. Ross & I attended a new church on Sunday here. It was a breath of fresh air here & I'm very excited about the possibilities for attending & being involved with the church. I need more outlets outside my home where I do work constantly. I may teach a few sewing classes at an arts center here which will also help me get connected in the area here. Since we are military and very likely moving in the next 2-3 years, I find myself not getting connected as I should. I miss my friends from VA & often just focus on my business & marriage with life here. Please pray I will find the strength to step beyond my comfort zone. I have enjoyed teaching Sunday School every Sunday this past year for 2nd & 3rd graders at the Presbyterian Church.

Thanks for your interest & continued support!

Bonnie

Home from Michigan; Back 2 Website & Orders...

I WANTED to FEATURE My Favorite Personalized Children's Bedroom Pillows here for you to see... Feel free to contact me for your very own!

Thanks for keeping up... I arrived home from Michigan & now have computer access again. We had a trying time in Michigan as we ended up staying the full amount of time in Grand Rapids as my husband's mom had suffered a stroke prior to our arrival & we were not sure how bad it was.

My husband & I are honestly never together for 10 days straight... as you can imagine 24 hours in a car together was not easy either with our puppy, Misty. She actually made the trip more exciting & energentic. Frisbee time at the rest stops was fun & my favorite relaxing time was with his extended family who live and vacation in Holland Michigan, right on the lake.

While away I did some work on my website & have a LONG way to go, but did get a few orders, which is always enlightening & promising... Thanks to all of you who are sharing my site with possible interested buyers. I'm definitely cutting WAY BACK on my ebay sales now. It's best for everyone involved as I have fairly listed my prices as low as possible with many options & personal communication anytime you want.

Hope you are all enjoying a pleasant & safe summer, too!
Bon

Getting ready; Michigan & Wisconsin trip!

We're leaving on Friday after a long work day for both of us... Ross's mom had a stroke on Sunday morning & we were going to leave next week, but he wanted to get home earlier to see his immediate family in Grand Rapids & then we will be driving to Rhinelander Wisconsin if all goes well in Michigan. I'm excited about meeting one of Ross's long time College friends & his family there, for the 1st time! So, I will be out of commission for 10 days, from the 14th through the 24th of June. We will be taking our sweet Misty Lab with us. Should be interesting... I'm still getting used to having a dog as a part of our little family. :) She is as sweet as can be!

Please don't think I was mean, this is a little angel who models for me often & normally does not mind Misty & coming over often to see her. As you can see... today was not one of those days. Misty was not even touching her & never did anything to her but lick. My hand is always right there for any protection, but my goodness, she was SO MAD about this photo! So Sad & funny~ I just had to share. Of course I removed her right away, but HAD to take just one photo quickly~ Hope you are smiling & not thinking I'm awful! :) I've been doing a lot of photo sessions lately w/ more darling sets & new models! I had 3 children come yesterday & photographed a total of 12 sets, Whewww, that is a LOT of work, 1 baby & then 2-4 year olds who are precious! The HUGE hairbows I was never a big fan of, but they have grown on me for the photos, they really do make the outfits! They are VERY Popular here in the South, that is a fact! I will post of photo of my new little girl models here as well as our pride & joy, Misty at her best! She seemed so sad that the baby was crying...

Off to work today, I wanted to start off today by updating you all on our upcoming, unexpected trip & manditory time off too! I will manage & will have computer access during some of this time while staying in hotels & at least at his parents house, so most days I will be checking my e-mails. I appreciate all of you & how you have encouraged me to hang in there with ebay's new feedback standards & rules, it's going to be very hard in the coming months, PLEASE share my site with your friends & do let me know of any problems you experience while shopping on my website so I can work on making those changes & fixes ASAP~ Any suggestions on making it the best place to shop would be ideal!!!

Blessings & Joys to you!!!
Bonnie

Sat 6-7-08 * A Discount Code for YOU for my website!

Dear Friends!~

A photo of my brother, Alex's HS Graduation with his sweet girlfriend! They look so young, don't they? A very exciting time in their lives!!! I was thrilled to have the opportunity to go home to PA & be a part of this glorious event with our entire family who came together, 3 grandparents were there with us, 8 grandchildren & what a blessing this was to see everyone together!~ I miss my family!!! *** My DH is away this weekend and I am catching up on current orders while I am working on my website listings. I like to keep you updated weekly on my blog!~ Last weekend I was away from Friday through Monday. Returned on Tuesday morning after an unexpected missed flight in Phila, PA~ I had 2 customers who got very upset with me when they did not hear from me over those last 2 days as my laptop died! I do normally respond immediately & working 24/7... I needed this break away. This was upsetting to me... 4 words here; *Patience is a virtue...

To all of my new interested buyers, I have made a discount code for all of you that are reading this & viewing my new site here! My Discount code is for $5 off your total order. To use this, you need to type in BonEful when you are ready to check out, it will ask for your discount code. This is to help you remember my website & to check back often. If you are a member of my mailing list, I have a different discount code which is for $10 off! Please do sign up for my mailing list, it's very easy to do from my website... click on NEWSLETTER at the top bar in every page, it will take you to a safe & secure mailing list entry! *** My brothers high school graduation was so much fun, it was great to see all of my family again & hard to leave after only 2 short days with everyone. Alex has been such a light & blessing to us all... he definitely has kept our parents young & on their toes. He was born when I was 16! He had 4 big sisters who all loved him dearly & were all like mothers to him. What a special time!!! I'm so proud of him; I hear from everyone that Alex is going to be a famous bass player one day, he is truly gifted in music & has worked very hard in school.

Around the 15th of this month, we will be leaving for 10 days to visit with my husband's family & friends in Michigan & Wisconsin. I will be updating you here on our travels over that time & will post & do my best to respond while I am away then, too. ~Until then, I'm catching up on my work & perfecting my website listings & photos. It's all very time consuming, as you can see... my goal is to offer you the VERY BEST, from start to finish! I have been SO disappointed with ebay's new feedback system & not to mention how much money they take from every transaction. Very discouraging & this is why approx. 75% of designers have left ebay. This has been very stressful for me as I have had some very difficult customers who have tried to make my life miserable in the last two weeks since the system changed, wanting items for free & complaining, but still bidding on my items! When I blocked this customer, she left me negative for everything I ever made for her!~ As a result... I'm listing MUCH less on ebay & will only be listing samples I've made to sell there with my LOW .99 starting bids. I will continue to sell on ebay in a very small way, just search BOOAK on ebay to find my listings!

Enjoy your weekend together as a family, take time to enjoy each other. You never know when things will change at the blink of an eye! I'm touched & so saddened by a recent event of a amazing, favorite Christian music artist, Steven Curtis Chapman, & his family's story of their little girl, Maria, who was struck by a car in her driveway & killed at only just 10 days over her 5th Birthday. SO VERY SAD for all of those involved. She was the youngest of 3 precious little girls from China that the family adopted & LOVE dearly. Please keep the Chapman family in your prayers. I will post a link to their incredible association & website where you can read more & even contribute in her memory.

Love & Prayers from the Mississippi Gulf Coast

Bonnie